The Secret of Forging

  The castle of the Duke of Mason was built to protect the Hermann family and hoard troops, with a clear military purpose. However, in this era, most of the army's supplies and food relied on the land cultivated by farmers, so there were three villages outside the castle to provide wheat for the nobles and knights inside the castle. The area that the castle could cover and radiate was the most effective area for territorial control. Wherever people gather, commodity exchange will occur, and markets are the most effective way for medieval people to exchange goods.

  "It's really lively here, I wish Black Marsh Village could be like this all the time." Arwade led his long-haired strange horse, looking at people dressed in various clothes representing different classes. Some wore noble bright finery, some wore round pancake hats and clothes no less than those of nobles, but most were farmers wearing coarse linen clothes, holding eggs and other things produced by their own families to exchange for silver coins after paying taxes.

  Awnings made of linen dyed in various colors were lined up on both sides of the empty space below the castle, with people haggling over prices among the goods on display. Blacksmiths had also built sturdy houses out of wood, where they hammered away at iron, and occasionally armored soldiers would go in to take a look at the swords and chain mail on display. The blacksmiths were members of the blacksmith guild, but at the same time belonged to Duke Mason, and after completing their annual tasks in the castle, they could also use their spare time and materials to make some farm tools or weapons, which was also one of the blacksmiths' sidelines. It seems that gray income existed in every era.

  Arwad did not get the support of his father, Sir Wendel, in his debate with Yves. The knight thought it was more practical to procure some weapons and equipment for himself and his men for now. However, Sir Wendel had a lot of confidence in his youngest son and agreed that Arwad could go to the market to inquire about goods after purchasing weapons, and maybe even buy some reserves if possible. Arwad knew he couldn't change his father's and brother's stubborn minds all at once, so he agreed to take a look at the market. He found that the blacksmiths in the duke's territory were still using the relatively backward method of hot forging. In the Middle Ages, each industry had its own guild organization, which was an organizational structure inherited from ancient Rome. The blacksmiths also had their own guild, which played a significant role in protecting the rights and interests of blacksmiths but also caused industry monopolies and hindered technological innovation.

  "What are you doing, you fool? Who told you to put the sword in water?" Just as Arwade was carefully observing the blacksmiths at work, a dispute seemed to have occurred in the blacksmith shop. He was drawn over involuntarily and walked over, while the other blacksmiths simply turned around, shrugged their shoulders and continued with their own work.

  "But I've seen Milanese do it this way, and the swords they make are extremely hard." A young blacksmith held a pair of iron tongs in his hand, with yellow hair curled and dried from years of standing by the furnace, freckles on his face, and blue eyes that seemed to hold a hint of grievance. He wore a dirty leather apron.

  "Shut up, weren't you and your father driven out by the Milanese blacksmiths' guild? I took you in with good intentions, so you should work honestly and not think about those strange things anymore." Standing in front of the young blacksmith was a big fat man with a full beard, who unlike other blacksmiths did not wear an apron, his clothes were clean and tidy, and around his neck he wore a round medal-like thing, which Arrod seemed to recall as the emblem of the guild leader.

  "It's Uncle." The young blacksmith replied with a bitter face, lowering his head and hanging his head in despair.

  "Alright, you'd better work hard and become a great blacksmith master. Don't be like your father, always thinking of strange things. I don't know how I can entrust my daughter to you." Seeing the young man's dejected appearance, Big Fatty felt that he might have been too harsh, so he patted his shoulder to comfort him.

  "Are you really going to give Bonnie to me?" Owen's face lit up with excitement, his freckles shining brightly as he bounced up and down, not knowing where to put his hands.

  "That's right, do a good job." The big fat man with a goatee nodded and left the blacksmith shop in large strides. His direction was towards the castle. Generally, the leader of the guild is allowed to enter the castle, which made Arwode somewhat envious. It seems that no matter what era or status, having skills has always been valuable.

  "Who is that?" Arvad asked curiously a blacksmith beside him.

  "That's Lambert, the local blacksmith guild leader, a master blacksmith." The blacksmith said with his head down, working on his own task, to Arwedd.

  "Did that young man really go to Milan?" Aruo De asked curiously.

  "That young man is called Owen, his father was also a master blacksmith who almost became our leader but went to Milan in pursuit of the ultimate sword-making technique and was chased back by the people of Milan. The position of leader was taken over by Lambert." The blacksmith looked up at Arwod, seeing that he was a noble with a sword, and patiently explained, "Sir, would you like to buy a sword? I have just finished making one."

  "Okay, let me take a look." Arwade walked into the blacksmith's shop and looked at the various goods on display, but he wasn't very satisfied with any of them. However, one helmet caught his eye.

  "Sir, do you like this helmet?" A young voice sounded beside Arwade. Arwade was holding the pot-shaped helmet and examining it carefully. The inside of the helmet was made of densely woven willow branches, but along the brim were cross-shaped iron strips that fixed it in place. The outside of the helmet was covered with leather and studded with iron rivets, making it both lightweight and sturdy, very suitable for light infantry use. Most importantly, the field of vision was completely unobstructed.

  "Is this what you did?" Arwade asked, looking at Eoin who was standing beside him with a look of helplessness, and raised the helmet in his hand.

  "Yes, this hat is used by the city militia of Milan, but they don't have iron bars fixed on it. I added some fixed things, and if you want one, it's very cheap, five silver coins for one." Ouen looked at Arwod with hopeful eyes, proactively lowering the price.

  "Ah, look at this one, he's a knight, he'll only buy sturdy barrel helmets like these. Your woven willow hat wouldn't catch his eye." The blacksmiths nearby saw an opportunity and rushed over, holding up their heavy iron helmets to sell to Arwold. He had seen such helmets before, and knew their disadvantages - the field of vision was extremely narrow when worn, and due to their weight, they could only be carried on one's shoulders, making them very cumbersome. However, the German knights seemed to have a special liking for these heavy, rugged items, just like their descendants' fondness for German tanks.

  "I am no knight, I am but a squire." Aruth said hastily to the gathering blacksmiths.

  "What? A vassal?" The blacksmiths immediately lost interest, as everyone knew that a vassal had no fief of his own and hardly any money on him. They all dispersed to attend to their respective tasks, leaving Owen and Arvid standing there awkwardly.

  "Alright, it seems your colleagues have lost interest. Let's go somewhere quieter." Arwade shrugged and said helplessly to Ewen.

  "Alright, adult, let's go to my home then, where I still have a few helmets." Eon hastily led the way in front, and they left the blacksmith shop towards the outside of the market. There was a place where the miscellaneous workers of the castle gathered, with a cluster of simple houses crowded together. Eon brought Arwod to the side of a ditch that flowed out of the castle, his home was right next to this stinky ditch.

  "Father, I'm back." Ewen pushed open a creaky wooden door, and the yard inside was filled with all sorts of trash. This was a large courtyard house with two-story wooden galleries, and between the staircases were hung all sorts of coarse linen clothes. When strangers came in, many people's heads would poke out from the windows of the galleries to curiously look around.

  Owen's father didn't respond to his son, and Arwed walked straight into the courtyard and up to the attic, entering a room filled with various iron parts. As he watched this scene, Arwed felt a very familiar feeling. An old man with white hair sat at a large wooden desk with his back to them, intently staring at something and muttering to himself.

  "Why? How could it break, I clearly saw how the Milanese did it." Arwade walked forward and saw that the old man was holding a broken iron sword fragment in his hand, with a small iron hammer placed beside him. The old man lightly tapped the sword with the hammer and it shattered, making Arwade even more anxious.

  "Ah, my father has been obsessed with the Milanese quenching technique ever since he saw it, but no matter how we try to replicate it, our swords just aren't as good as theirs. The longer we quench them, the less durable they become." Eown said, wiping his nose in distress.

  "When using cold forging, it can't take too long, and it should be done when the sword is not too hot." Arwade's eyes were also a little moist, feeling sorry for his fellow craftsman. As a tech enthusiast, he deeply understood the kind of soulful longing a technician had for infinite perfect technology, so he couldn't help but walk up to the old man and say:

  "I've tried it, and indeed it's much sturdier than our swords, but still no match for the Milanese sword. What secret are they hiding?" The old man said with a crazed look in his eyes.

  "Ah, I see. So they must have used a secret technique in the cold forging process, and as it happens, I know this secret." Arwade thought for just a moment before smiling and saying casually.